Patrick boylak



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

PATRICK BOYLAN, OF GLOUCESTER, NEW JERSEY.

lMPRO-VEMENT IN LET-OFF MECH'ANISM FOR POWER-LOOMS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 42,638, dated May 10,1864.

To @ZZ whom, t may concern.

Be it known that I, PATRICK BOYLAN, of the town of Gloucester, in thecounty of Gamden, State of New Jersey, have invented a new and peculiararrangementI in loom mechanism, for the purpose of uniformly letting offthe warpyarn from the beam; and the following is a full, clear, andexact description of the same, reference being had to the accom' panyingdrawings, making a part of this specitication.

Figure l represents a top view or plan of the working parts of theapparatus of a powerloom. Fig. 2 shows a section through of the end viewof the loom, to which the self-regulatin g mechanism for uniformlyletting off the warp-yarn from the beam and the operating of thecloth-beam is attached.

The object of my invention is to accomplish that which has long beensought after, but never before attained to myknowledge; and it consistsin seltregulating or an adjusting mechanism by which the uniformity ofthe tension of the warp-yarn is kept the same throughout, from thebeginning to the end of the piece without the application or aid of aspring or brake, or friction in any manner, so that whether the yarnbeam be full or nearly all run oi' no dierence in the strain of the warpis perceptible.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willproceed' to describe the parts and their operation and the functionsperformed more fully in det-ail, referrin g to the drawings andtheletters marked thereon.

The loom-frame Amay be made of cast-iron to patterns in any desired formand put together by bolts or screws in the ordinary manner, the lay Bbeing attached to the frame and put in motion by short pitmen orconnecting rods attached to wheels or the ends on a counter-shaft, C,which is driven by a spur-gear pinion and wheel on the main shaft, D,which has on or near its end a cam, d, which operates to lift at eachrevolution of the shaft D, a balance-lever, b, which has connected toits small or outward end apawl, c, the same working in a ratchet-wheel,j', connected by a pinion, c, and cog-wheel g, to give motion to thecloth-beam E, so that by its action a continuous motion is effected atevery two strokes of the lay B, the balanced dog h holds all that hasbeen taken up as the weaving progresses.

To one of the arm-s F of the lay I attach a long dog or pawl,j, whichextends back under the main shaft D, so as to operate on aratchet-wheel, l, the same having on its side a bevelgear, b, into whicha pinion, t', is fitted, the shaft of which has a screw or worm, fn,near its rear end, into which the cog-Wheel m operates, making awormgear to move the yarn-beam, so that by the action of the gear andratchet 7c, put in motion by the lay B, the warp is let off gradually,when the dog or or pawl j can get a hold on tooth of the ratchet.

On the same shaft or pin o on which the bevel-gear and ratchet-wheelturn I place an oscillatingplate,p, one portion of it extending a littleabove the periphery of the teeth or notches of the ratchet lc, and thisportion abruptly terminating in another portion sunk below the teeth ofthe ratchet, so that when the projecting part of the plate p is in acertain position the pawl j is lifted out of the teeth of the ratchet,and moves back and forward on this plate, thus leaving theyarn-beammotionless until such time as the pressure of the warp upon thewhip-roll q raises the levers r r, the same being connected to the platep by a rod, s, which allows the plate to move back, so that the pawl jwill take a hold on the ratchet k, and thus continue to operate the wormgear, and let off the Warp from the yarnbeam just as fast as isnecessary to keep the tension uniform, and no faster, for as soon as theweb or warp becomes slack the whip-roll q, being balanced by weights tt, which are adjustable on the levers r r, will depress and bring theplate p in a position to lift the dog or pawlj out of the ratchet, sothat the tension of the warp operates on the plate p, and makes aperfect self-acting regulator of the yarn-beam, which is eli'ected bythe tension of the yarn, which is left off with as much uniformity andcertain ty as the openin g and closing of a gate for letting water ontoa waterwheel, or the opening and closing of the valve of a steam-engineis regulated by the speed of the fly-wheel.

The importance of a uniform, perfect, selfacting let-ott' of the warpfrom the yarn-beam is only known to those who have experienced thedifficulties attending it, and there has been much study, time, andlabor spent in the effort to obtain such a result, and there has beenmuch complex mechanism applied as Well as the more simple devices, suchas iriction springs, brakes, detent-levers, whip-rolls, 85o. 'On none ofthese devices do I claim to have made any improvements; nor do I proposeto use any of them except the whip-roll q.

It Will readily be seen that by myinvention as above described, therebeing no spring or brake nor friction applied to any portion of theloom, the power required to operate the let-oft'mechanism is verytriliing, and the regulator being operated in so easy, a manner muchless power is required to run the loom; but the greatest advantage is inthe quality of the fabric Woven, there being at no time too greatatension or too much slack in the Web.

hi 'PATRICK X5 B DYLAN. nim-k. Witnesses:

EDM. F. BROWN, J. B. WooDRUFF.

